America's Sweethearts
by Twincestuous
Summary: So there's this girl, right? We met online — NOT INTERNET SEX, SHIKA — and she's just soo...everything. And we really wanna meet. The problem? She's in Phoenix. I'm across the country. Tell me how that's supposed to work. NaruHina. AU.
1. Of Music and Meetings

Whispers: Whoa. Complicated much? But before that, don't you dare say this story was stolen from anywhere. This collab is the story of Midnight and I, seriously. I'm in Brooklyn, she's in Phoenix. So shut up.

Anyway, italics mean they are speaking Japanese, and we'll explain the backgrounds gradually. Watch out for little clues on that, m'kay?

Midnight: ARIZONA PWNS. That is all.

* * *

Naruto

_ Well this is boring..._ Naruto thought as he scrolled through the list of suspense stories on Fiction Press. _Who comes up with this shit? I mean, seriously, a bird mutant? Maximum Ride ripoff, much?_

It seemed that no story seemed to entertain him today. He came home, all bored out from tests in practically _every_ subject, hoping for a good story to read.

His wish was not granted.

Naruto sighed and went back to one of his own story's review page, Shippuden. It was his favorite one he had written so far, and you could really tell he had improved as a writer. He always loved reading his reviews, they made him feel important. About half-way down the page, he stopped, his eyes brightening.

_** *giggle* Dazzle reminds me of Twilight! :D  
*gasp* They DIDN"T MAKE IT? What torture...  
Lavender Kiss**_

"I didn't expect anyone to know that," he murmured to himself. In the latest chapter, he had made a slight reference to Twilight — so what if he liked the book? Got a problem with it? — but hadn't honestly expected anyone to realize it. His story was about ninjas, and who really reads both topics?

Intrigued, he clicked onto her page. First thing he did was read her surprisingly original profile, laughing at the moments and updates. When he finally got to the bottom of the page, he was startled, because really, she had what he called 'a shitload' of stories.

Undeterred, however, he clicked on the first one, and sat there reading. When he finally finished the most recent update, Naruto immediately reviewed.

"_Yo, Naruto, where are you?!_" Sasuke, Naruto's best friend, called up the stairs in Japanese.

" _Where_ _the hell do you think I am?_" he replied, going down to him anyway.

"_I don't know, taking a shit maybe? You're full of it."_

"Sasuke! Watch your mouth!" a female voice said as they walked into the kitchen.

"Sorry Kushina," he replied, having the decency to look embarrassed. Naruto rolled my eyes and walked over to grab an apple.

"How much homework we got today?" he asked as he bit into it.

"Way too much, of course. Why did we apply for Stuyvesant again?"

"We didn't. You forged my signature," Naruto replied dryly.

"Whatever, let's go. Later Kushina," Sasuke said as he picked up his messenger bag and an apple and brought them both upstairs.

"I'll call you for dinner," she replied as Naruto followed him up. While Sasuke threw himself down on Naruto's bed, Naruto went to his computer and checked his e-mail, not really expecting to see anything. But there it was in bold lettering-

_** [FP Review Reply]**_

_ "Holy shit, that was fast," _he muttered, clicking on it. It was a simple 'thanks for reviewing,' but somehow, he felt he couldn't just leave it like that. He logged onto his account and chose the PM feature, and though his fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment, he typed _something_ back. Nothing important, but it was something.

_** May 05**__**th**__** 12:12 PM**_

_** Subject: Re: Review Reply**_

_** Hello, you replied really quickly. I just left the room for a minute and when I came back, here it was! Well anyway, no problem- I love reviewing, and you reviewed my story first.  
xx-chikenrawmen**_

Once he hit send, he wished he could take it back. It was so formal, and so…not him. He had even taken the time to capitalize and make sure everything was spelled right. What the hell was going with him?

"_What are you talking to yourself about?_"

"_Nothing._" Naruto spun around in the chair until he was facing the darker-haired boy. "_We gonna start anytime soon?_"

"_Yeah. By the way, I'm staying here tonight._"

Naruto did not bother to reply, only saying, "_You know where you sleep._"

Hinata

"_God, school's so boring_," TenTen whispered to me in Japanese as our Gym teacher droned on in an over-enthusiastic tone.

"_Yeah, no kidding_," I whispered back.

We were stuck in Gym for the last period of the day. While we may have been in Tempe High's International Baccalaureate program, that didn't escape us from having to partake in Gym.

"_Why in the HELL is he having us do Gym OUTSIDE?_" TenTen continued. "_It's ninety-degrees, for crying out loud! It's September!_"

You're probably thinking how it's possible for it to be ninety degrees in September. That's just how it is in Phoenix; incredibly hot in the summer, and generally warm in the winter.

Well, for those who aren't native to the state.

For people like me, who've grown up in the desert, you tend to get used to it. Hundred degrees in the summer, only 50 in the winter…it grows on you after a while.

But it does _not_ replace the fact that we were having Gym outside when it was ninety degrees. We stood on partially dead grass on our school track field. Students switched weights other foots impatiently, and some wiped the sweat off their foreheads from the heat of the sun.

"Today," Coach Gai announced in an overzealous voice that annoyed the living daylights out of me, "you will be doing _laps_!"

Everyone groaned at just the idea of doing laps in this heat, save for one. Coach Gai's nephew; naturally, Lee was just as perky as Coach was about it. Coach Gai was Lee's guardian — his parents had been killed in a car accident or something — and it was simply _amazing_ how much they shared with each other. Their hairstyle, outfit choices, obsession with working out…. If I didn't know any better, I would say they were father and son.

"_Son of a fucking…_" TenTen cursed, albeit a little loudly. I could see from the slight glint in Coach's eye he heard her, and I elbowed her. She rolled her eyes, knowing perfectly well he could speak Japanese. After all, he _is_ originally from Japan. How he got the perfect American accent, I will never know.

"You know, I should just start cursing in Chinese around Japanese teachers…" TenTen's mom was originally from China. TenTen's mom had a hard time speaking fluent English, but managed it very well. TenTen knew Chinese since it was the home language she used to speak, but had grown up here.

"Now, if you will please walk over to the beginning of the track!"

All students began a slummish decent towards the start of the track, just casually walking along. Temari caught up to me and nudged my arm.

"Too hot for you, Hina?" she grinned at me. Temari's real name was Teresa, but she was just part of the group. Her brothers were, too, and they all dubbed themselves with Japanese names. Only those in the group called them by their Japanese names, though, since it was just sort of a 'friends-only' kind of connection.

"No way," I grinned back. I was born with my name everyone in the group called me, seeing as I'm a Japanese-American. My grandmother moved here a couple decades back, and our family has been in Arizona ever since.

"Hell yes," TenTen added. "It's ninety degrees. My brain doesn't process in ninety degrees." TenTen had been my friend ever since we were toddlers. When she was about ten her mom died from smoke inhalation when she was trying to get out of her burning office building. TenTen's been living with my family and me since then.

"Come on, ya'll," Temari teased. "Embrace the warmth."

Temari had pretty much grown up in the middle of the desert. Her parents were a couple of crack heads that could barely afford their small, cramped little apartment. (Of course, because of this Temari was striving to get a scholarship and be able to have a job affordable for herself and her brothers.) They didn't have money to pay for the air conditioner (and things like TV, phones, Internet, etc.), so her and her brothers were used to the heat to the extreme. This was nice weather for her.

"Why don't you embrace my foot up your ass?"

TenTen was definitely PMSing.

Eventually, all the students had taken their places at the start of the track. Some of the ones intent on actually running were stretching their legs a little, and the ones who truly didn't care just stood there, waiting for Coach to tell us to go.

He blew the whistle, signaling to start, and I shifted into a comfortable jog. TenTen and Temari had already lapped me twice, and when they came up to me the third time, they were challenging me.

"You sure you guys wanna race?" I asked in the tone that no one could see through. _My poker voice._

"Bring it, sister," they replied. I shrugged and picked up my pace, and they sprinted off. I gradually increased my run, getting to long, wide steps. It was times like this my long legs came into use.

I beat them by just an inch, and only because they were both tired from having gone so quickly before. I was heaving by the time we had reached the starting line again, due to my sports induced asthma.

_Damn you, exercise._

Finally, after the Godforsaken hour was over, we all headed over to our Core class.

Core class was undoubtedly boring, as well, today. We sat through it, listening to Ms. Higareda about the importance of threading together the countries to create a more peaceful world.

God, I hate Core.

"You wanna come over for a couple hours to do homework?" I asked Temari as soon as we were dismissed. She shrugged.

"Depends," she said. "I gotta feed Kankuro and Gaara. You offerin' dinner to take home?"

"'Course I am," I replied. It would simply be wrong to deny her of that when I could easily give it to her. "Would you like homemade or fast food?"

"We've had all this homemade crap for too long," she replied, getting into the backseat of my Altima. "I'd like Arby's before I go home. That sounds fucking delicious."

"Arby's it is," I said.

--

"You wouldn't mind if I plugged in, right?" TenTen asked me as we migrated into my room. We dropped our backpacks on my bed my bed and I nodded, telling her to go ahead.

"I've been dying to listen to this song." Immediately, the sound of Bowling For Soup's _Li'l Red Riding Hood_ starting playing through my iHome speakers.

_Oh, what a big heart I have,  
the better to love you with._

_Little Red Riding Hood, _

_even bad wolves can be good._

We all sung to it, laughing our way through the howls. As they bopped their heads to _Ignorance_, the song that came after, I hopped on the computer. They started whining at me, but I shushed them by saying I was just checking my email.

_**[FP Review Alert] Story: Magnifique**_ was the only email I had in bolded, signaling it was unread. I smiled, clicking on it; it was always nice when someone left a review on FictionPress. Usually, not a lot of people left a review on FP, seeing as it wasn't as popular as its sister site, FanFiction. I personally tended to get a lot of original poetry and short prose down, so FP was just more convienient for me.

_**this was so freaking awesome. lyke seriously, I loved everything about this fic. the storyline, the plot, the characters…you are totally a master of the written arts.  
xx-chikenrawmen**_

I really had to point out that I thought his penname said _chiks en raw men_ at first. After reading it again I realized it meant to say _chicken ramen_ after being translated into non-chat speak.

I pretty much lived for reviews. It was especially nice when I got a review that wasn't just "good" or "cool" and actually pointed out what they liked. This one wasn't bad, either — didn't have major chat speak; only un-capitalization and a funky spelling of _like_. Not bad at all.

The penname did sound familiar, though. Then again, lots of people had similar pennames, so I didn't think much of it.

I replied an appreciate _Thank You_ note and went to profile for a quick moment. I didn't have any of that _Post this in Your Profile_ stuff, since I really didn't care about it. My profile was a little long-winded, with lots of funny moments with my friends and I, but definitely okay to read.

I finally got down to my story lists. I switched over to my _Favorites_ tab and scrolled down my list. I was checking for something to read after homework got finished today. I had seriously been bored. I was even contemplating going over to FF.

Then I saw it. That one penname — _chikenrawmen_. My eyes widened as I realized that was the author of my favorite ninja-esque story. That was the one I was desperately waiting an update from.

"_How could I forget that?_" I almost-shouted to myself in disbelief on my stupidity. I had been so caught up in my thoughts I hadn't remembered that Temari and TenTen were right there.

"Maybe you got drunk that night…?" Temari answered as a joking answer. I shook my head.

"No, no," I mumbled. "This guy just reviewed one of my short stories, and I thought his penname looked familiar, you know? So then I reply, and I go to my profile. He wrote the story I'm pining an update for…"

"Riiiiight," Temari said, obviously not understanding what I was saying. TenTen did though, though she really didn't get the significance of it.

"Great, Hinata," she said in a bored-type of tone, getting out her Biology book. I scoffed and rolled my eyes; I didn't expect any of my friends get the importance of it. It was just that…writer-to-writer connection that no one would understand besides fellow writers.

After a few minutes of waiting anxiously for a reply or a PM of any sort, I gave up. I slung my mouse over to one of my hot corners, the one that put it to sleep. (Oh, the joys of a Mac.) I got up and crossed the room over toward my bed. I plopped down on it, stretching over to grab my backpack.

"Damage assessment?" I asked. When someone asked for the damage assessment in the group, it meant how much homework we had.

"Well," Temari said, sizing up her book stack, as well as TenTen's, "we have to read that chapter in Bio, character analysis in English, the worksheets in French, bookwork for Trig — oh, and we have that reading for History."

Way too much, as usual.

With a sigh I began to start on my reading, first. Reading was always easier than worksheets or, God forbid, a character analysis.

I had been reading for maybe an hour now, and the only real sounds were Temari and TenTen checking over each other's Trig problems. I had just started on my French worksheet when I heard the beep from my email app.

I finished the problem I was on and went to go check it quickly. The email read: _**chikenrawmen**__** sent you a message **_in bold.

_A PM from him?_ I thought to myself. I clicked on the subject line and read the message.

_**May 05**__**th**__** 2:12 PM  
Subject: Re: Review Reply  
Hello, you replied really quickly. I just left the room for a minute and when I came back, here it was! Well anyway, no problem- I love reviewing, and you reviewed my story first.  
xx-chikenrawmen**_

I was surprised, honestly. Like, really surprised. It was just a chance of luck that I had replied to his review extremely quickly, seeing as I just replied to it when I got home. I was a little embarrassed at how he had remembered that _I_ had reviewed _him_ first. I didn't even remember that.

I quickly clicked on the reply link on the email and began typing.

_**May 05**__**th**__** 2:18 PM  
Subject: Re: Review Reply  
Actually, I had just gotten home and checked my email. Didn't really know you had just sent it, haha! =P I was doing homework when I got your PM, and it was pretty fast. Only about five minutes into my pile of homework. I have to admit I forgot I had reviewed your story until I went back to my favorites list. I knew the penname sounded familiar!  
Lavender Kiss**_

* * *

Midnight: YAY IT'S DONE! AND IT ONLY TOOK THREE DAYS! AND THE INSPIRATION IS STILL FLOWING! Hopefully, if the inspiration is still going strong, we'll have the next chapter up in a few days.

Whispers: Yay! I must admit, I did the shorter Naruto bit, but it just seemed right to leave it there! Hey, did ya;ll get the little Shippuden joke? Anyway, check out New Moon: Abridged, by us, a crazy crack fic.


	2. Of Random and Replies

**A/N: ****Midnight****: And so we begin off another chapter. I'd like to dedicate this one to the Spill Canvas and large thinking noises. "HMMMM."**

**Whispers:**** Which happens to be both of our large thinking noises! Yup, yup! Meh, I wish I had a friend like how I'm making Sasuke to Naruto — that would be Midnight, but yeah. Opposite sides of the country. Yay. Totally not dedicated to For Your Entertainment (Adam Lambert, GAY FTW) and Michiyuki (GAY ANIME OPENING FTW) which continuously distracted me.**

I tried really hard not to be too anxious when I woke up the next morning. All of yesterday I had tried to concentrate on my homework, and it was a serious struggle not to check my mail every five minutes. I had to keep reminding myself that not everyone was a computer freak like me. She probably hadn't even thought about me again.

"_Yo, what's up with you? You acting jumpy, and you normally always still."_

_ "It's nothing, Sasuke. What's today, Wednesday?" _I asked.

"_Yup, Gym first,"_ Sasuke replied.

"_Damn, we didn't have to do all our homework yesterday, then! Hayate's always calling in sick, and when he's actually there, he's too sick to make us do anything."_

_ "Shut up and answer the question. You think I don't know you?"_ he said, interrupting what would have been a very intelligent and intellectual speech.

"_Well damn, hoe, no need to be pissed. Is it your time of month already?_" Seeing him glare at me, I laughed and continued. "_Alright, so there's this girl on FP. She reviewed me, so then I reviewed her, and then she PMed me, and then I replied to her, and it's like for some reason I just really want to hear from her."_

_ "So…when did you reply to her?" _Sasuke replied.

"_Last night."_

_ "So check if she replied,"_ he told me, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

_ "No! 'Cause if she didn't, I'mma feel all bad and shit! Not everyone spends their life on the computer, like me!"_

_ "But what if she did reply, and then you're wasting both of your time being paranoid?"_ I stopped for a second, deliberating.

"_But if she didn't, it'll be worse than if she did!"_

_ "Then stop complaining."_

_ "Sasuke, you're being useless!"_

"_Shut up."_ He took out his Blackberry and began playing around with it. I took that as a sign he was done talking, and I was supposed to get ready for school. Of course, he was already fully ready, the bastard.

"_She did reply,"_ he said suddenly, just as I was about to tell him I was ready.

"_Huh?"_

"_She did reply,"_ he repeated.

"_What?! How do you know?"_ He held out his phone, and showed me my e-mail.

"_Dude, how do you know my password?"_

"_Like I said- you think I don't know you? Anyway, that's not the point. This chick you keep going on about replied at 12:18 yesterday. So you were freaking over absolutely nothing."_

"_Shut up and give me the phone,"_ I said and grabbed it out of his hand. Sure enough, I had a PM reply, sent six minutes after I sent mine. Well, _shit._

"_Thinking about how much of an ass you are?"_

"_Pretty much, yeah," _I muttered, clicking on it.

_**September 05**__**th**__** 1:18 PM  
Subject: Re: Review Reply  
Actually, I had just gotten home and checked my email. Didn't really know you had just sent it, haha! =P I was doing homework when I got your PM, and it was pretty fast. Only about five minutes into my pile of homework. I have to admit I forgot I had reviewed your story until I went back to my favorites list. I knew the penname sounded familiar!  
Lavender Kiss**_

Quickly, I typed up a reply.

_**September 06**__**th**__** 6:48**_

_**Subject: Re: Review Reply**_

_**Ah, I'm sorry I didn't reply. Let's just say I was having a spaz out. This is gonna sound stalker-like, but I really like talking to you. By the way, I noticed you're a beta. Would you beta my stuff too?**_

_**xx-chikenrawmen**_

"_What'd she say?" _Sasuke asked me_. _I read it off to him.

"_That's it? I'm here thinking you were having internet sex or something." _I gave him a look. _"Yes, you were freaking that badly."_

"_Shut up, faggot."_

"_Don't let Shik hear you say that," _he said, knowing I was joking. I rolled my eyes in response.

"_No shit. You think I'd really be that insensitive?" _

"_Yes."_

"_Anyway, let's go,"_ I said. We trooped downstairs.

"Later, Dad!"

"Goodbye, Minato." We spoke in English, 'cause Dad's more comfortable using his first language. As for his name—which is very much Japanese, although he is very much American—he had changed his name a bit before he and Mom got married. Don't ask me why. I don't know.

"Bye, kids. I'll tell Kushina you left when she gets up," he replied. "No work for me today, for once." My dad's a CEO—so is Sasuke's dad, for a partner label—so most days he has to work. Mom, however, doesn't work. Dad brings in quite enough for the three of us.

We nodded vaguely as we left the house with bagels in hand. Dad was still muttering to himself.

"Hey, watch it!" some random person shrieked annoyingly. I stuck my tongue out at them like a child. Sheesh, I was just walking to train station; what did they have against me? I don't have a car, because it's totally unnecessary. I go to school in Manhattan—though I live in Brooklyn—so there'd be no parking. At all. Ever.

"You're so immature," Sasuke noted, rolling his eyes at me.

"Well, fuck you, too, then."

"Sorry, I don't roll that way. You could ask Shik, though." I started laughing at that just as we swiped our train passes. Shikamaru stood off to the side, hands behind his head as he leaned on a pillar and stared up at the sky.

"Shik! What up?" I called. He sighed and got off the wall, raising a lone hand to acknowledge our existence.

"Hey Shik," Sasuke said when he reached him.

"Hey Sasuke, Naruto."

"Why so formal, yo?" I asked, pulling them both into a hug.

"Get off of me, you troublesome idiot!" Shikamaru said, irritated.

"You have to kiss me first," I replied mischievously. He rolled his eyes and groaned, before leaning over and kissing me on the mouth.

"_There. Fucking satisfied?"_

"_Dude, what the fuck?!"_

"_What, you forgot I'm gay?"_

"_No, but I didn't think—_"

"_No, you didn't," _Sasuke interrupted_. "Now let's go, our train's here."_

I complained all the way to the train and into our normal seats—that bench right on the end of the last car that's just big enough to fit the three of us; we live nearby the first stop (or last stop) so we always get it—but by the time we were sitting, the three of us were laughing about it.

I pulled out my phone and checked my e-mail, disappointed when there wasn't a reply from Lavender.

"_What's he doing?"_ I heard Shikamaru ask.

"_Checking for a reply from some chick he met online,_" Sasuke answered.

"_Internet sex?"_

"_He says it's not."_

"_Shut up, yo," _I said. "_Ya'll really believe I'd do that crap?"_

"_Yes," _they answered in unison.

"_I so wouldn't." _

"_Anyway," _Shikamaru said. "_What is she lives halfway around the world or something? It could be two in the morning where she is."_

"_Ah! You're right! Thanks Shik!" I screeched._

"_I'm surrounded by idiots…" _Sasuke mumbled. I cheerfully punched him in the head.

--

"Naruto!"

"Huh? Oh, hey Carter," I said, taking back out my phone—which was really just a bootleg Blackberry from MetroPCS; I didn't mind though. I knew my parents had money, but that didn't mean I had to use it. I had thought the AP had randomly decided to check on us. It was eighth period study hall now, and I hadn't checked my e-mail since this morning on the train. I was pretty freakin' proud of myself for resisting the temptation for so long. Sure 'nough, I had a reply, sent not even 2 minutes ago. I ignored all my other mail and opened that bitch up.

_**September 06th 2:34**_

_**Subject: Re: Review Reply**_

_**Oh, wow, really? Nobody's ever asked me to beta them before! Sure, I'd love to! =D It isn't every day you get to beta for a favorite story, haha!**_

_**You don't sound stalker-ish, lol. You just sound like a nice person who has similar likes.**_

_**Lavender Kiss**_

"Naruto!"

"_What_? I mean, what happened?" I said, accidentally switching over to Japanese in my excitement.

"Homeroom teacher," Carter told me, nodding towards the back door. Kakashi stood concealed at the door. I nodded at him in thanks and put the phone in the desk to text the reply. Carter was really nice, a little on the big side, but I'd never gotten along with him like I did with Shikamaru and Sasuke. Maybe it was partially because I'm a bit of a loner. Personally, I think he's just _too_ nice, and easily offended. I couldn't joke around with him like I did with them.

_**September 06th 2:37**_

_**Lol, glad that you think I'm that good. You're way better though, definitely. Uh, yeah, I'm kinda knew to FP, though, so could you tell me what I'm supposed to do? Like, how do I send the chapter to you?**_

_**Glad I'm not sounding like that to you. Both of my friends think I'm being a pervert—I thought they'd have more faith in me! *sob***_

_**xx-chikenrawmen**_

Hinata

I was starting to feel anxious. I had messaged him back at around 2 yesterday, right when I got the message. It was around 10 now, and I was going to bed, but I couldn't sleep. I really wanted a reply — it was just eating at me.

"He's probably just asleep already," I told myself. "He could live in England or something. Just go to sleep and wait for a reply tomorrow."

And that sort of helped me. _Sort of_, being the keyword. I was still anxious, and was on-off sleeping all night. Once during the night I had to go to the bathroom and TenTen threw a pillow at me as I walked by her room. When I looked into her doorway she growled at me, telling me to "get my ass to bed".

"Yes, ma'am," I mumbled sarcastically. I could feel her glaring at me as I walked back from the bathroom, probably annoyed at the sound of the toilet flushing. I walked just a little quicker to my room (TenTen's glare was like…death).

I was tired and frustrated when my alarm went off in the morning. I glared at it with sleepy eyes, now tired from a night of insomnia. I slammed my hand on the Snooze button and sat up, running a hand through my hair.

Then I got hit with a pillow. WTH?

I turned to glare at who I _thought_ would be TenTen, seeing as she was the pillow-throwing master in this house, but it wasn't; instead, it was my brother, Neji.

"Why did _you_ throw a pillow at me?" I asked, looking at him with a _Have you been possessed?_ type look.

"TenTen does it all the time," he said, shrugging. "I figured it might be fun."

I smirked at Neji and eyed him knowingly. "_Oh_, I get now. Still head over heels for her?"

"Shut up." He glared at me, but that didn't wash away the tiny flush of pink on his cheeks.

"You know, if you don't tell her soon, she'll find someone else," I told him softly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He walked off, but I threw the pillow back at him anyway. He caught it — _damn it_ — and walked back to his own room.

Neji had pretty much been in love with TenTen ever since she moved in. Before, he had only had a minor crush on her, seeing as he only knew her from when she came over. But after she started living with us, he really started to like her. I didn't know the full scope because, well, really — why would he tell _me_, his sister, all of these things? Especially when I could tell her? Neji knew I wouldn't tell her, because I just wasn't that kind of person, but he was careful, regardless. He had some idiot friends who _would_ tell, if they knew.

Which brings us to how he is a secretive person.

What was our point again?

--

--

It was Neji's turn to drive us all to school in his oh, so _pretty_ Mitsubishi Eclipse. The only reason he got it was because he was older — I was stuck with my stupid Altima. It wasn't that I didn't like my Altima and it's gas mileage (which, really, was _fantastic_), it was just that…his Eclipse was an Eclipse. It would forever own the "Pretty Car of the World" award.

"Oh, Hinata!"

I could sort of tell it was Mr. Sanchez because of his effort to sound Japanese when he said my name.

"Yes, Mr. Sanchez?"

"Are you going to be coming to the Julius Caesar play at Mesa Art Center with us?" he asked, and I saw the tip of a pack of Kool King cigarettes in his shirt pocket.

"It's next week, right?" I would go if it was next week. Next week was supposed to be really mellow for some reason I wasn't sure of. If it were tonight, though, I would have to decline. I was too anxious to get a reply from chikenrawmen.

"Yes," he responded. "Thursday, at six-thirty."

Mr. Sanchez was the IB Coordinator at THS. He was our cool, yet dorky English teacher for most of the day, and taught Spanish during 4th and 5th period. The cool thing about him was that he was actually from Spain. He did a lot of fun things after school for IB kids; like once, we had a mock bull fighting.

"I'll be there," I told him.

After I was done talking to Mr. Sanchez, we wandered over to our usual spot hang out during the morning, seeing as we got here half an hour early. It was sort of just this long, stone bench type thing that had sort of just became ours over the years. We had to get over here early to make sure no ill-informed freshman had taken it.

TenTen ended up curling up on the bench, super-tired — I could see the secret glare she sent at me from my midnight endeavors — and used Neji's lap as a pillow. I raised my eyebrows at Neji suggestively, and he narrowed his eyes at me with a _Shut the hell up_ look.

I saw Iris and Sara coming by from the left, and as I turned my head, they greeted me with a wave, jogging over here. Their group names were Ino and Sakura, and they were one of the few names that had a story. Sakura got hers because _sakura_ means cherry blossom, and she had this crazy pink hair-do. And Ino got hers because since she had a nickname for Sakura — _forehead girl_ — Sakura gave her the name of _pig_.

"Hey, Ino, Sak," I greeted, hugging them each.

Usually, Ino and Sakura were here before us, because they had to get up early for cheerleading practice, anyway. Yes, they were cheerleaders, and though shunned by their teammates for hanging out with the white dorks — even though they were themselves — but nonetheless group members. Besides, they were fuckawesome cheerleaders, so who really cared?

They plopped down on the bench and groaned.

"My thighs are burning!"

"My boobs are non-existent from all this exercise!"

"Oh, please! Your boobs were non-existent before!"

Well, we cared when they were whiny bitches.

--

--

Classes that day bored me out of my mind. First period was Symphony Orchestra, and we were just learning some new pieces so we were going bit by bit at when I clearly wanted to go faster. I already knew this song and had printed out the sheet music myself and played it for my own enjoyment.

Therefore, this just bored me.

English was kind of okay. There was a sub since our regular teacher was on maternal leave, and he let us read, stating the fact that English was "Reading". We ended up passing funny as hell notes then lying and saying it was something in the book that made us giggle.

"…The assassination of John F. Kennedy made you giggle?"

"No. The fact that he had a thing for Marilyn Monroe did."

The gullible-ness of subs is always what makes my day better.

Then we had Gym, of course, and we ran laps. _Lots and lots _of laps.

"_You know_," I panted, out of breath as we started walking toward the changing rooms, "_I think we should switch to Dance class soon. This is just insane_."

TenTen nodded. "_No shit._"

Then it was Trig, the most _dreadful_ subject of the day. Why was it so dreadful, you say? Because math was simply a devil incarnate, invented to rule over us with an iron fist so that one day it would end up being our God. Therefore: devil incarnate.

In Trig — _no_. What? _No. I'm not writing about fucking Trig._ Why not? _It's TRIG. It's evil_. …Right. _That's what I thought._

Skipping to Lunch, seeing as a part of me just doesn't want to recall Trig…

I was first at our table and sitting down, waiting for the others to get there before I went to go get lunch, and I felt elbows on my shoulders, and then weight.

"Hey, Hina," Kiba said. "How's it goin'?"

"It would be going better if you got off of me," I replied.

He sat beside me and grinned, his weirdly wolfy canines looking all…wolfy-canine-y. Maybe it was just a Cambodian thing.

Kiba had been my sort-of boyfriend for a week or so. We went out on a couple of dates but I never really felt that spark. Him, on the other hand…

"Hey, Shane, man," Kiba said as another groupie sat down. He didn't respond, but that figured. Shane — also known as Shino — was one of the more silent emo's that didn't rant about their depression and cut themselves.

"…Why don't you ever talk to me?"

Kiba was truly a lost cause.

--

--

We had Study Hall next. It was pretty much the only class I had with Temari's brother, Gaara (whose real name was Garrett). He was cool, but kept to himself, which really wasn't all that bad. He had this really cool dark red hair — that was natural, too — and a tattoo of the Japanese kanji for _love_ on his forehead. He had the punk/scene — whatever the hell you call it — look, so today he was dressed in black, ripped skinny jeans and a black jacket.

We sat next to each other, because we really didn't want to be disturbed by the loud, dumbasses that were in Study Hall the same period. Because usually, if Gaara was somewhere, others weren't, which was why it was nice to sit by him.

I decided to check my email, because though I — hopefully — hid it well, I was _dying_ to get a reply from him.

_**chikenrawmen has sent you a message**_.

In my mind, I was doing a happy dance.

_**September 06**__**th**__** 7:48**_

_**Subject: Re: Review Reply**_

_**Ah, I'm sorry I didn't reply. Let's just say I was having a spaz out. This is gonna sound stalker-like, but I really like talking to you. By the way, I noticed you're a beta. Would you beta my stuff too?**_

_**xx-chikenrawmen**_

Holy shit. I was being asked to beta. I had never beta'd for anyone before — though I did have a beta profile on my regular one. I typed up a reply.

_**September 06th 2:34**_

_**Subject: Re: Review Reply**_

_**Oh, wow, really? Nobody's ever asked me to beta them before! Sure, I'd love to! =D It isn't every day you get to beta for a favorite story, haha!**_

_**You don't sound stalker-ish, lol. You just sound like a nice person who has similar likes.**_

_**Lavender Kiss**_

Did I sound too weird? Eh.

"_What's that_?" Gaara asked me. He was kind of looking at me funny.

"_Oh, it's somebody I'm talking to online."_

"_Internet sex_?"

I looked at him like he had grown a fourth head.

"_What the hell?__ No! It's just somebody I met!_"

"_Sure…_"

Gaara could have a sick mind.

** A/N: ****Midnight:**** OMG. FINALLY. IT'S DONE. IT'S FUCKING DONE. Well, we have some reasons why this took so long. One, Whisper's computer crashed. Two, we had to wait a while for her to get a new harddrive. Third, we had a Twific Award site with nominations coming in. And Fourth, I was having a bit of a lacking inspiration. But we got it, lol.**

** PS: **_**THE RICOCHET! AWARDS! THE FIRST NARUTO FANFICTION AWARD SITE. **_**(www . ricochetawards . webs . com) We're still under construction, but we'll have everything up soon!**

** Also, we made some mistakes: **_**the time**_**. It was September and we put May in the time-stamp for the PM. Stupid. We've also switched over to a central time now, instead of our time-zones, which is just confusing. **_**The kiss**_**. This is **_**not**_** a ShikaNaru. This is a NaruHina. We just needed a way to introduce that Shika was gay. **

**Whispers****:** **Yeah, lots of mistakes, we know. Just be glad we caught them. And yes, this is a NaruHina. Don't leave cause of that kiss, which was the result of me being high off pain meds.  
PS: SECRET SHIKA PAIRING FTW.**

** PPS: Mr. Sanchez= Asuma, Carter= Choji**

** Oh yeah, and one, we **_**know**_** Neji is Hinata's cousin. We put in brother because brother Neji is smexy for some reason—though we're not into Hyuugacest. Plus, this central time is 2 hours after Midnight's time, and somehow it ended up being my time. And—last thing, I think—the underlining is in place of the italics. Since italics is Japanese, and bold italics is PM, we put underlines to show emphasis on a word. Get it?**


	3. Of Loveless and Lavender

**Midnight (who is no longer Midnight but will still be referred to as Midnight):**** Um...she had this done in a day...and I took 5 months. Kill me, plzkthxbai?  
****Whispers:****Hey, I tried. And BTW, YAY FOR COMICON. SO MUCH FUN. ARIZONA'S WAY BETTER THAN NY. And yay for getting hugs from random people!

* * *

**

Hinata

_ Okay,_ I told myself. _I will check it __one more time_,_ and I leave._

And I opened another tab on the school computer, noticing Gaara subtly looking at my screen out of the corner of my eye, and opened up my email.

_** Chikenrawmen has sent you a message.**_

_ ILY, computer._

_** September 06th 2:37**_

_** Lol, glad that you think I'm that good. You're way better though, definitely. Uh, yeah, I'm kinda knew to FP, though, so could you tell me what I'm supposed to do? Like, how do I send the chapter to you?**_

_** Glad I'm not sounding like that to you. Both of my friends think I'm being a pervert—I thought they'd have more faith in me! *sob***_

_** xx-chikenrawmen**_

I grinned to myself as I read the message. Gaara looked…weirded out.

"_This is a weird person_," he said. I shrugged.

"_Eh_," I said. "_He wants me to beta him!_" — imagine said sentence with a squiggle before the exclamation mark — "_Which is, like, an honor for me, you know._"

Gaara nodded, and I could tell he didn't get it.

I bit my lip for a moment, thinking, before I replied.

_**September 06th 2:43**_

_**Subject: Re: Re: Re: Review Reply**_

_**I'm not sure about the whole official beta chapter-sending-thing-a-mcbobber on FP/FF, so just email it to me at anoteformichiyuki (at) gmail . com**_

_**One of mine did too. Talk about lame.**_

_**Lavender Kiss**_

I guess it was sort of okay to give him my email — I mean, I had no idea what the fuck I was supposed to do with this said "dock" and how it would help, so this was the only other option.

The last bell rang for the day, and I sighed, logged out and gathered my stuff. Thank _God_ for a high school that lets you collect your home set of books before school starts, or I'd be lugging around the giant backpack that I did for my last two years of middle school.

"_So, Hina_," TenTen said, slinging an arm around my shoulder as we headed for Neji's Mary-Sue _Sparkle_ Eclipse, "_what's up with that __boy__ you were talking about?_"

"Boy?" Neji said, raising his eyebrow. I sighed. TenTen always brought up these things in front of Neji and he was always playing the "Overprotective Big Brother" role.

"_He's somebody I met online and he's really cool so just __drop it_."

"_A boy you met online?_" Neji questioned. "_Does not sound safe. How do you know he's not some sixty-year old pervert?_"

"_He talks too much like a kid to._" No, Hinata, _don't_ just say '_I know he isn't_,' go with the one that _doesn't_ sound convincing.

"_Right_," Neji said. "_Well, if you get raped, it's not my fault._"

"What the hell?" I blurted. "I'm not going to get freaking raped! You know I won't let that happen!"

"Please, bitch," TenTen said, "you know I won't let that happen."

"Besides," I interrupted before Neji could speak, "he lives in New York. How the hell is he gonna get all the way over here? Fly in some random giant metal contraption the government builds? Do those even exist?"

"…Yes. They're called planes."

"…Oh."

Of course, immediately after we got home I shot up to my room to get to my computer.

_**Chikenrawmen has sent you a message.**_

_YUSH._

_**September 06th 3:56**_

_** Subject: This Re thing is getting ridiculous**_

_** Well, I wasn't sure either, so that totally helps out.**_

_** anoteformichiyuki? OMG did you name that after the Loveless ending? Ohmigod, I loved that anime. And Ritsuka was so adorable; I could totally see why Soubi wanted to rape him. Or at least couldn't keep his hands off of him. I started a fic after that. I'll send it if you want.**_

_** At least we both have lame friends. Sasuke and Shik (short for Shikamaru) really should know me by know. I mean, damn, I have keys to both of their houses. And I named them JUST because Sasuke didn't want me too. Yeah, I'm horrible. (-.-)**_

_**xx-chikenrawmen**_

…How did this _guy_ know about fucking Loveless? It's a yaoi! Why does he watch yaoi? Unless he's gay…_Yay for gay boys._

"What the fuck?" TenTen shouted, and I jumped. I hadn't realized she was behind me. "How does this guy know that your email is a reference to a yaoi?"

"Probably gay," Neji noted.

Okay, when did _Neji_ get there?

"You guys had the same thought process I had…" I muttered and began typing back.

_** September 06th 4:24**_

_** Subject: agreed.**_

_** I always wonder how a guy knows — and willingly watches — Loveless. Tell me your story, ne?**_

_** Ooh, I like, I like. You'll have to send. **_

_** Hahaha, that's funny. None of my friends really get the whole significance of it, so they could honestly care less. My friend TenTen lives with us, though. Long story, don't know if you want to hear it.**_

_** Lavender Kiss**_

"_What significance?_" Neji asked, reading my message over my shoulder. I rolled my eyes.

"And that is my point right there."

"I still don't get it."

"Of course you don't."

"Anyway," TenTen interrupted, "we might wanna get homework done, yeah?"

I sighed. "Yeah…probably."

And therefore it took us 2 hours to finish our stupid IB work.

"_That was so __bo-ring_," I groaned, collapsing onto my computer chair once again.

TenTen rolled her eyes. "No shit, Sherlock. That's the point of homework."

"Shut up…"

_**Chikenrawmen has sent a message.**_

_ Thank God…something to save me from the boredom._

_**September 06**__**th**__** 4:39**_

_** Subject: heh…funny story**_

_** Well for me, it's actually like…I looked up yaoi/shounen-ai anime and manga. And yeah, I am straight. The problem is…I think in my previous life I was a girl with a yaoi fetish. The only person who sympathizes with me is Shik, cause he's gay. I don't know if he minds that I told you that. Sasuke's a total ass though.**_

_** Sure thing. I'm almost done with the latest chapter, so I'll send it same time. I'm learning to play Michiyuki on the piano. Going pretty good.**_

_** Yeah, I get that. Sure, I'm up for a story, if you want to tell me.**_

_** xx-chikenrawmen**_

"Odd, but he sounds okay," TenTen said.

"You know, I really wish you would stop reading over my shoulder."

"You know, I really wish _you_ would stop eating all the cinnamon buns, but you don't see me bitching."

"You do bitch. Every time."

"Yeah? Your mom."

"—is dead."

"So's mine. Fuck life, huh? Now shut up and let me read."

And I was owned.

_**September 06**__**th**__** 6:32**_

_** Subject: haha?**_

_** "I think in my previous life I was a girl with a yaoi fetish." First time ANY boy has ever told me that…it is something I will remember for the rest of my life.**_

_** And I love gay boy friends. They're awesome. I have one, Haku, but he's visiting family in San Fran right now. One of his uncle's (also gay) got AIDS and…yeah. He's dying right now so Haku's there with him. Then we have this guy named Sai at my school…he chases after anything with a dick.**_

_** Oooh! I'd love to hear it!**_

_** It's such a long story, I dunno if it would work in email/PMs…I have a Skype?**_

_** Lavender Kiss**_

Naruto

"_So. Much. Homework!" _I groaned. "_Isn't it only the fourth day of school? Fucking how?"_

Shikamaru yawned and ignored me.

"_I mean, really! How can we have homework before we learn anything?" _I continued stubbornly.

Sasuke looked out the train window, apparently not hearing me.

"_Dudes, I am talking you know."_

_ "We know. We're just pretending you're not," _Shikamaru replied. He yawned again before getting up and sitting back down on my lap, and then lying down with his head across Sasuke's. We automatically put our arms over him to stop him from falling. He closed his eyes, but we knew he wasn't sleeping.

_ "Who's house are we going to today?" _Sasuke asked.

"_Yours,"_ me and Shik replied simultaneously.

"_What? Why?_"

"_We haven't been to your place in ever. The last few weeks, it's been all me and Shik_," I replied.

"_Plus, Itachi's kinda sexy_," Shikamaru added, eyes still closed on our lap.

"_Dude, that's creepy._"

"_Whatever, but we're still coming over_," I said.

"_Fine. You – stay away from my brother. Sometimes I worry about what he will or will not do."_

_ "Sicko. Just 'cause he's type hot, doesn't mean I'd get with him. Not really my kind, you know?"_

_ "Not really," _Sasuke and I said.

There was a palpable silence between us for a while.

"_Okay, tell," _Sasuke said.

"_What're you talking about?" _I replied confusedly.

"_You're not staring into space, and you're not trying to fill the emptiness. You aren't behaving normal, so tell us what's up," _Shikamaru clarified, if a bit cruelly.

"_Ah! You guys know me so well!" _I cried. I launched into my story of how I met Lavender, and how I was constantly anxious for the next PM from her.

"_You mentioned us?" _Sasuke shrieked at me after I finished spilling my guts to them.

"_I just told you my fucking life story and you care about __your__ tiny, insignificant part? I didn't even mention you by name!" I replied, annoyed._

_ "Better not have."_

_ "You are damn useless. Shik, anything you want to say?"_

_ "…Definitely not internet sex. Unless you're lying, of course." I glared at him. "Okay, okay! I think you should just relax—from the sound of it, you're being paranoid and the LK girl really likes talking to you. Maybe she's as anxious to hear from you as you are to her, if that last PM is to be counted for anything."_

_ "So what should I do?" _I asked. It was so pleasant to have a friend who understood a girl's mysterious minds, even if he thought it troublesome to do so.

"_Just relax and loosen up when you talk to her. Ask subtle questions about her time zone, so you can know when to expect replies. Be careful not to sound too stalker-ish or perverted, no matter what she says," _Shik said. I nodded, internally contemplating taking notes.

"_So help me Naruto, if you take notes, I will personally kick your ass," _Sasuke threatened. There goes that idea.

"_Psh. Like you could. You know I'd cut your ass."_

"_So, shoot it up," _he challenged.

_ "I'd love to, but in case you hadn't noticed, we're on a train. A moving train. Where people are already looking at us because we are speaking another language and a dude is lying down in our lap," _I replied dryly.

"_…Right."_

_ "Anyway, thanks Shik! You're the best," _I told him.

_ "I know," _he replied.

_ "Stop sucking up to him, Naruto. He's not gonna kiss you again," _Sasuke interjected.

_ "Fuck up. You're just jealous because I don't want to kiss __you__."_

_ "Firstly, idiot, that time was a mistake. Someone pushed you into me, and we kissed. That's it! And you just admitted that you wanted him to kiss you again."_

_ "Did not. And if was an accident, why'd you try to shove your tongue down my throat?"_

_ "I did not!"_

_ "Did too!"_

_ "Did not!"_

_ "Did too!"_

_ "Did—"_

_ "Shut up! Naruto, you know it was an accident. Sasuke, he doesn't want to kiss me," Shikamaru said. "Troublesome bastards."_

_ "Killjoy," _I muttered under my breath.

"_Fuck up, slut," _Shikamaru shot back.

_ "Coming from you?" _I retorted, eyebrows raised.

Shikamaru blushed. "Just shut up, stop bringing that up."

"Fine, fine," I relented. "Yo, can we stop at Atlantic before we go to Sasuke's?"

"Why?" Sasuke asked

"To go get some wings. They have the best wings over at Atlantic."

"You want us to get off this train, transfer to another train, get off that train, get lost in the train station like we always do, get some wings, take a bus to a train and get off at Sasuke's stop?" Shik asked.

"Those are some fuck-a-licious wings."

"Sure," they replied. I beamed.

X.x.x.X

"Was this not totally worth it?" I asked as we walked the block to Sasuke's block. We all had buffalo wings in our hands. Yes, we walk and eat. Be honest, who the hell doesn't?

Of course, I was in front of everyone. Shik was walking too slowly, and for some reason, Sasuke was walking…weird. Just leave it at that. I pulled out my key to his house and, after the door was opened, walked in yelling "I'm home!"

"Naruto?"

"Hi Mikoto," I replied smiling. Behind me, Shikamaru and Sasuke walked in. Finally.

"Hey, Mom," Sasuke said and Shik nodded, probably too lazy to form words.

"Hello boys," she replied. I will never understand how Fugaku and Mikoto ended up together. Mikoto was a totally nice mom, and Fugaku was such a…hardass.

I put my wings down on the counter, wiped my hands and pulled out my phone. I just wanted to check my e-mail. Nah, I won't lie. I needed to check my e-mail. I'd been dying to check it again in school, but hadn't gotten a chance, then went on a train, so there was no signal.

And lo and behold, I had an e-mail, sent about an hour ago. Thank God.

_** September 06th 2:43**_

_** Subject: Re: Re: Re: Review Reply**_

_** I'm not sure about the whole official beta chapter-sending-thing-a-mcbobber on FP/FF, so just email it to me at anoteformichiyuki (at) gmail . com**_

_** One of mine did too. Talk about lame.**_

_** Lavender Kiss**_

I smiled and went to reply.

_** September 06th 3:56**_

_** Subject: This Re thing is getting ridiculous**_

_** Well, I wasn't sure either, so that totally helps out.**_

_** anoteformichiyuki? OMG did you name that after the Loveless ending? Ohmigod, I loved that anime. And Ritsuka was so adorable; I could totally see why Soubi wanted to rape him. Or at least couldn't keep his hands off of him. I started a fic after that. I'll send it if you want.**_

_** At least we both have lame friends. Sasuke and Shik (short for Shikamaru) really should know me by know. I mean, damn, I have keys to both of their houses. And I named them JUST because Sasuke didn't want me too. Yeah, I'm horrible. (-.-)**_

_**xx-chikenrawmen**_

"_Naruto!"_

_ "Huh? What happened?"_

_ "God, you're such a reject! I said come on, we're going upstairs," _Sasuke repeated irritably.

_ "Yeah, yeah, shut up. I heard you," _I replied nonchalantly.

_ "No, you didn't,"_ Shik chimed in. I shot him a betrayed look.

Once upstairs, I threw my messenger bag down and plopped onto Shik's bed. "_Do we __have __to do homework?"_

_ "If you don't want to get kicked out of Stuy, then yes," _Shik answered. "_Unfortunately."_

All of us preferred to use Japanese, even though we were surrounded by people who only knew English. I don't know about them, but for me it's because my parents taught me Japanese first. They had figured that one would be harder, and I'd catch English easier. They came about that conclusion because they figured everyone I knew would probably speak English only, like my teachers.

"_Why don't we do something more pleasant first?"_

_ "Like what?"_

_ "Anything is more pleasant than homework."_

_ "True, but we gotta get it done. I'll take Trig homework. Naruto, you get Science. Sasuke, you do Social Studies. We'll do the Japanese worksheet together after, since that's gonna be easy, and then copy each other. Kay?_

We nodded in agreement. Dumb homework.

About 35 minutes later, our shitload of work was done. Complete. Gone. Non-existent. That is the power of the top three kids in our school working together.

So there.

I jumped on Sasuke's computer for a second before he could stop me and checked my mail again. I wasn't very hopeful, but I did have a new e-mail.

_** September 06th 4:24**_

_** Subject: agreed.**_

_** I always wonder how a guy knows — and willingly watches — Loveless. Tell me your story, ne?**_

_** Ooh, I like, I like. You'll have to send. **_

_** Hahaha, that's funny. None of my friends really get the whole significance of it, so they could honestly care less. My friend TenTen lives with us, though. Long story, don't know if you want to hear it.**_

_** Lavender Kiss**_

_ "Yeah, why do you watch Loveless?" _Sasuke asked me, looking over my shoulder.

"_Shut up."_

_** September 06**__**th**__** 4:39**_

_** Subject: heh…funny story**_

_** Well for me, it's actually like…I looked up yaoi/shounen-ai anime and manga. And yeah, I am straight. The problem is…I think in my previous life I was a girl with a yaoi fetish. The only person who sympathizes with me is Shik, cause he's gay. I don't know if he minds that I told you that. Sasuke's a total ass though.**_

_** Sure thing. I'm almost done with the latest chapter, so I'll send it same time. I'm learning to play Michiyuki on the piano. Going pretty good.**_

_** Yeah, I get that. Sure, I'm up for a story, if you want to tell me.**_

_** xx-chikenrawmen**_

_ "Done? Alright, let's go," _Shik said.

_ "Where we going?" _I asked.

_ "We're going down to the pool."_

_ "Sure."_


End file.
